Friday, April 27, 2012

Lately, and in a minor reference to my last post, because of my desperate itch to disappear to foreign climes I have been allowing my mind to wonder into fairytales. Or rather watching movies that either are actual fairytales, eg. Alice in Wonderland or movies set in balmy locations such as, Mamma Mia, with fairy tale like stories. I've been playing games set in fairy worlds and generally not paying much attention to reality. In fact, my stress levels being what they are, the less I have to do with the real world the better I like it. Unfortunately work interrupts my delirium and fantasy world, returning me to the everyday mundane, and as usual for this time of year I spend most of my work day wishing for the moment that I can go home. It just gets worse and worse, and so does another itch, the itch to write. The fantasy novel that I have written still lies unpublished, in the hands of my agent and yet the urge to begin another grows stronger and stronger every day. All this amidst, search for a more profitable job, the start of a small sewing business and a desperate need for a holiday. I really do like to pile it on myself, don't I? Will any of this ever work out? Or will I just stagnate hopelessly until I have a nervous breakdown? Unfortunately for me, I haven't got the ability to read the future, and my usual positive thinking is slowly degrading. So to escape the horrors of my rising stress levels I live, as much as I'm able, in my own little fantasy land where everything is possible, where good always conquers evil, where I can be whatever I want to be and have everything I want to have without means to achieve them other than wishing. I'm learning italian, but only because it makes me feel a little closer to being somewhere else, another means of mental escape. Fairy tales are the original fantasy fiction, and since I am a great lover and debut contributor to that genre I suppose its natural that I find them fascinating and entertaining and a good means of mental escape from the day to day grind. I spend hours planning a Mad Hatter's Tea Party, unfortunately I can't find enough wacky friends to attend such an event, or a suitable location to hold such a wonderful, crazy, mad idea. Perhaps if I ever get to own a slightly older house with plenty of old-fashioned character and a huge garden I can go mad and try to convince all my sane friends to dress in AIW appropriate costume and show up to a Mad Hatter's Garden Tea Party, with of course a showing of the Tim Burton movie, unless of course that would be breaking the law.... copyright.... not showing to a large audience? I can even imagine how it would all look and how the evening would end. *Sigh* Well back to my random theme. I married my husband, and we are more like Shrek and Fiona than Snow White and Prince Charming (Walt Disney Prince Charming not Shrek/Rupert Everett Prince Charming) I can't think of any aspect of my life that could be consider remotely Fairy tales - esc. Perhaps that's part of my problem, perhaps I need a little "magic" in my life, a little adventure and a little romance. So then the question arises, how? But I think maybe that question has to be left unanswered, because I'm truly stumped on that one! However I will be posting a travel post after my vacations in June, so keep you eyes peeled for a romp through Southern Spain. Farefarren everyone!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

What else can you title a subject that I inevitably return to once a year. Its April, spring has sprung, as much as its able in West Norway and the nagging sensation of emigration or at least moving bubbles up. I sit here, looking out at a beautiful blue sky over a crystalline fjord, watching Brits like myself creating a dream in Southern Italy on the TV. I'm surrounded by beauty and yet the traveller in me is jealously watching television, and itching to go somewhere I've never been. A pool, hot, balmy weather, a relaxed lifestyle.... if you could spell the sound that eminates from me you might get an inkling of how I feel. I lived in Southern Spain for 7 years, it was a glorious experience but I was glad to return to northern europe. Yet I miss, occasionally, the lifestyle, the food, the type of people and the attitude.
Perhaps I'm just too lazy for the Norwegian way of life, perhaps the forever endeavour to be body beautiful, healthy and active is just too much for a couch loving, food obsessive Brit like me. In Spain I was more active, I had a healthier diet and was generally healthier and fitter, of course this is not a rule. My brother and his wife are as unhealthy as I am here and they have lived in southern Spain for at least 4 years. Though when the sunshines you feel more eager to be active, unless you live isolated in some remote villa your more likely to walk to your destinations. Fruit and vegetables are cheaper than anything else in warmer countries and so its easier to have a healthier diet. Then of course there's the dream of every northern european, sitting on a veranda watching the sun slowly sink behind the horizon with a plate of olives and a glass of wine, grown and produced in the country your sitting in. Emigrating, as with any project that will change you life, is not an easy undertaking. Changing culture, language and country are things no one should do lightly, and definitely not without some serious motivation. Even moving in your own country can be difficult and require a period of adjustment. Moving to another country, a move that usual requires that you leave lots of things behind, can be scary, difficult, draining and take even more time to adjust to. If your strong enough, have a enough motivation and are willing to humble yourself to learn the language and some of the culture, well then the rewards are immense. The adventure, that's what I long for. The new, the excitement of discovering a new place, of living a new way. Maybe in some way I want to runaway, to escape the stress of living in northern europe to a more relaxed, simpler and slower pace of life. Oh well, if I can get over the hump, perhaps I will feel better and last another year here, until then... ciao bellos! Adieu mon amies! Adios amigos! Hejdå and Hade!